BTCC: Snetterton: Team PSP preview

Team PSP comes 'home' to Snetterton in BTCC
Team Petronas Syntium Proton will be going all out for a strong
performance at Snetterton on Sunday 5 September. The team is based in
East Dereham, some fifteen miles west of Norwich so the racetrack...

Team PSP comes 'home' to Snetterton in BTCC

Team Petronas Syntium Proton will be going all out for a strong
performance at Snetterton on Sunday 5 September. The team is based in
East Dereham, some fifteen miles west of Norwich so the racetrack is
very much Team PSP's home venue.

Team PSP has been responsible for all the work to turn the family
saloon car into the tarmac-hugging 280 bhp racer driven by the seasoned
South African driver Shaun Watson Smith and BTCC newcomer Fariqe
Hairuman from Malaysia. This season, the team has worked hard to
develop its new car and help Fariqe to learn the ropes in his first
season's motorsport in the UK. In fact, the first time either
driver had been to a UK race circuit for even the second time was their
most recent outing, at Brands Hatch on the short and tight Indy
circuit. There, Watson Smith once again demonstrated the potential of
the Team PSP package in setting fastest lap in the last race of the
weekend.

But the season has been somewhat frustrating with podiums tantalisingly
close but not yet achieved.

Fariqe Hairuman says: "I've had a great season so far just
learning as much as possible, as fast as I can, racking up race
mileage. BTCC is about racecraft as well as outright speed and I still
have a lot to learn -- but it's coming. Last time out I was
just 0.6 seconds shy of Shaun's fastest lap of the race so I know
I'm making progress. Snetterton will be fun -- it's
fast and hard work."

Shaun Watson Smith said: "It's my first visit to Snetterton
and I'm really looking forward to it. We have a great chassis as
shown by my fastest lap on our last outing at Brands so I'm keen
to see how well we fare in the Bomb Hole and round Coram in
particular."

Mike Carroll, Chief Engineer said: "Strategy is clearly important
in BTCC and we got it pretty well right last time out. I'm hoping
we can get Shaun and Fariqe into good grid positions with some smart
thinking and great driving."

David Wong, Team Principal said: "We're very proud to have
been in the BTCC since 2002. Team PSP is the first Asian team in the
BTCC with the first Asian driver too. This will be our third visit to
Snetterton and we hope to do well in front of our adopted home
crowd."